New-look Thrashers head to Boston

Hockey Betting Lines

02/26/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers hope the recent additions to their lineup will translate to improved play and they'll test that theory tonight, when they visit the Boston Bruins at TD Banknorth Garden.

The Thrashers are just 2-7-2 in February and have dropped two straight and six of their last seven games. However, Atlanta made some moves to help cure this slump over the weekend, as it acquired defenseman Alexei Zhitnik and left wing Keith Tkachuk.

First, Atlanta sent defense prospect Braydon Coburn to Philadelphia in exchange for Zhitnik on Saturday night. Zhitnik, who has five goals and 19 assists on the year, was traded for the second time this year after being sent from the Islanders to Philly in December.

On Sunday, the Thrashers picked up Tkachuk from St. Louis in exchange for forward Glen Metropolit, first and third round draft choices in 2007 and a second-round draft pick in 2008. Tkachuk has 20 goals and 23 assists on the season and 911 career points (466 goals, 445 assists).

Both Tkachuk and Zhitnik are expected to be in action this evening against the Bruins.

The Thrashers' latest loss came Saturday to division rival Carolina, as Justin Williams scored two goals and John Grahame made 28 save to lead the Hurricanes to a 4-1 triumph at Philips Arena.

Garnet Exelby scored the lone goal and Kari Lehtonen stopped 24-of-27 shots for the Thrashers.

Atlanta has 72 points and is three behind Tampa Bay for first place in the Southeast Division. The Thrashers are also sixth in the Eastern Conference and three points behind Pittsburgh for the fifth spot.

The Thrashers are 17-13-4 on the road this season, but have lost four of their last five tests as the visitor.

Meanwhile, the Bruins had a four-game winning streak halted in a big way Saturday, as they were slammed, 7-2, by the Florida Panthers. Chris Gratton scored twice and added an assist, to lead the host club to the easy rout.

Marc Savard and Brad Boyes each tallied a goal and an assist for the Bruins. Savard has notched a point in eight straight games, posting three goals and 11 assists during the run.

Tim Thomas started between the pipes for Boston and was pulled after the first period, allowing three goals on 19 shots. His replacement, Hannu Toivonen did no better and allowed four goals on 33 shots.

Boston is still on the outside of the playoff race and trails the New York Islanders by six points for the final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference.

Tonight marks the beginning of a three-game homestand for the Bruins, who are 16-12-2 as the host club this year.

Atlanta is 2-0 against the Bruins this year and has taken the last four meetings overall.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.